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VSRD-IJBMR, Vol. 2 (6), 2012, 280-291

R RE ES SE EA AR RC CH H C CO OM MM MU UN NI IC CA AT TI IO ON N

Future of Online Retailing in India

1

Sabyasachi Das* and 2Kishore C. Behura

ABSTRACT
According ICRIER (Indian Council for Research and International Economic Relations) estimates, retail accounts for over 10 per cent of Indias GDP. Fuelled by increasing customer base, rising disposable income, changing lifestyles and growing absorptive power of the domestic market, organised retail sector is likely to grow at a much faster pace of 45-50 per cent per annum. The retail sector in India is certainly a beneficiary of the growth of the Indian economy, but it is also a key cause and catalyst of that growth, and will remain so for at least 15 years. Considering that modern retail will have a positive, multiplier effect not only on the economy, but also on employment, direct and indirect government revenue, industrial output, urban and rural development, strengthening of infrastructure, etc, it would be fair to expect the government to play a supporting role. It is interesting to note that the bulk of the retail development in India has taken place through selfmotivated efforts of the Indian retail industry, with no external support from government agencies or for that matter, industry lobbying of retailers. In many other south East Asian countries, government has played an important role in realising the potential of retail businesses and organising it under a single umbrella. For example Malaysian retail is governed by the ministry of domestic trade and consumer affairs and most of the transactions regarding information, licenses, approvals, applications, taxes etc can be done online through an easy-to-operate ministry website. If we put a close look to the success of Wal-Mart. During the last two decades, Wal-Mart has been able to take advantage of the rise of information technology and the explosion of the global economy to change the balance of power in the business world. Wal-Mart capitalized on the humble bar code -and caused a shift in the balance of power between manufacturers and suppliers and a closer look at the retailer's plans to use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for even greater efficiency. Technologies that aid in managing inventory, capturing sales data, forecasting demand and generating automatic replenishment to reduce time-to-market are likely to gain prominence. Inventory tracking technology such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), which achieved success in developed countries, is expected to see adoption in India. Metro Cash & Carry already has plans to expand its Tag It Easy! RFID program in India. Meanwhile, Quick
____________________________ 1 2

Lecturer, MBA Department, Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar, Librarian, Gandhi Institute of Management Studies, Gunupur, *Correspondence : saybya_mba5333@yahoo.com

Odisha, Odisha,

INDIA. INDIA.

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Response codes are expected to achieve widespread use in the country with the growing adoption of smartphones. With sustainability becoming integral to corporate strategies, the adoption of cost-effective green technologies that reduce energy consumption, emission levels, and wastage is also expected to increase. The next wave of battle for the consumer market will be fought on technology rather than anything else. "Online shopping is not only more convenient for consumers with hectic lifestyles, but also gives a better deal for their money," says Veer Kaul CEO of Art d'nox, the premium stainless steel home dcor chain from Jindal steel. There are eight exclusive Artd'nox stores in key metros like New Delhi and Mumbai, besides at 41 multi brand outlets including Shoppers Stop, Westside, Home Stop and The Home Store. Kaul finds the online format exciting, though the concept is still in a nascent phase in India. Online retail in India is on fire. Just switch on the television in the evenings and you will see signs of this trenda wave of advertisements during prime time slots from companies like Snapdeal and Flipcart blanketing the airwaves. Thats because these e-tailing sites have been pumped with cash for expansion and there is now a frantic race afoot to try and scale up as quickly as possible. What makes these ads easily familiar is residual memory of a similar kind of spending-spree that took place so long ago by companies who now occupy real estate in the great internet graveyard. In the US companies like pets.com and etoys.com were harbingers of the next great revolution in e-commerce, their valuations reaching astronomical heights only to quietly collapse and expire in a few years. Could the same thing happen here ? Keywords : Global Consumer, Zero Inventory Cost , Digital Medium, Multi Plant Sten Cell.

1. INTRODUCTION
According to a study by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), suggests that organised retail is likely to grow at a much faster pace of 45-50 per cent per annum for a couple of years. The study also revealed that the majority of unorganised retailers indicated their preference to continue in the business and compete rather than exit, representing a future scenario in which both unorganised and organised retail not only coexist but also grow substantially in size. In such a scenario, there is certainly a need for the former and larger segment to innovate. Online retail is one such tool to boost the sales of small retailers. For those operating single or even a couple of stores, the clientele may be limited; however, their adoption of an online model will not just boost visibility and reach and thereby sales revenues but also help build proximity with clients, thanks to many inbuilt tools. Shalini Gera, GM, Ferns N Petals - ecommerce, says, Online retail offers global reach for both buyers and receivers, which is absent in the case of a fixed physical store. It also provides round-the-clock reach and hence there are no market timing restrictions." Despite all the advantages, when it comes to credibility, it is no secret that Indian consumers still prefer a touch-and-feel experience when it comes to shopping. Some analysts, however, believe that it is only a matter of time before Indians begin trusting the online shopping space. E-commerce is growing by 30-40 per cent each year and with branded players stepping in for most products, credibility is not a major issue. Besides, online retailers are extremely cautious of this fact and go the extra mile

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to ensure that customer experience is above expectation," says Gera. Khurshid Iqbal, business head operation, Sweet World, a popular European concept of a pick-n-mix candy shop, elaborates the role of online retail in food. "We currently operate 53 outletsboth company owned and franchised. We will soon launch an online retail site for the customers. Online retail will help us reach clients in the areas where we currently have no stores." Jagdeep Chhabra, managing director, Chhabra Triple Five Fashions says, "Chhabra555, a traditional Indian womens ethnic wear retailer with 35 physical stores, also has an online presence. However, company's revenue generation through online shopping is minimal at this point of time." The reason for this, he elaborates, is because customers want to touch and feel the products before making the final purchase. However, he believes over the next 2-3 years, the customer mindset will change in favour of the online shopping experience.

2. INDIA STORY
According to a recent Visa e-commerce tracking survey, eighty per cent of internet users in the Asia Pacific region made an online transaction and spent an average of over USD 3,000 each in the past 12 months. Further, the survey revealed that in India, purchasing digital downloads was the most popular form of consumer ecommerce. Seventy-six per cent of respondents from India, the highest among Asia Pacific countries including Hong Kong (China), Singapore, Japan, Korea, Australia and India, have bought some form of digital entertainment over the internet in the last 12 months; music downloads (63 per cent) emerged as the most popular digital entertainment purchase. Online consumers in India recognise the convenience of online shopping as reflected in the high percentage of internet users who buy a wide range of products, from those for everyday use to the occasional high-value item online. According to the report, the top draws for shopping online spotted airline tickets at first place, followed by online travel agents, travel accommodation. Clothes and shoes grabbed the fourth spot while car/motorcycle stood fifth. However, food and groceries segment was positioned seventh in the Visa e-commerce tracking survey. Internet marketing research company comScore has released new findings which estimates that 60 per cent of Indian online users visited retail websites in the month of November 2011. The latest comScore data shows the 18 per cent increment in the number of online shoppers from the past year. The global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics, comScore has released a report on visitation to the top retail and coupon sites in India on the basis of its data from comScore Media Metrix service and reports that coupon (daily deal) sites are also a part of the ecommerce craze. In November 2011, around 16.5 per cent of the Indian online population visited deal sites such as Snapdeal dot com and Mydala dot com. Mr Kedar Gavane, comScore director for India, said, The online channel is playing an increasingly important role in connecting retailers with potential customers in India. The rapid growth of online coupon sites suggests that consumers in India are looking for deals, highlighting the need for online retailers to adopt effective marketing and pricing strategies. The top retail destination sites in India are Amazon sites reaching 6.8 million visitors-mark and representing 14.7 per cent of the online population. Observers indeed expect the online shopping concept to boom in the near future, provided awareness about the safety of financial transactions over the internet spreads across consumers. World's largest online retailer Amazon.com is set to enter India, riding on the second wave of ecommerce boom in the country, and is in discussions with leading Indian players in the business like Flipkart.com, LetsBuy.com and Exclusively.in, and plans to launch services by 2012 Q1. As per sources, Amazon is looking to set up operations on its own as its discussions with many players on acquisition front have not worked out. Hiring is currently on in Hyderabad,

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Bangalore and Chennai to fill up the various positions in this team, say sources. "A team of over 200 people is being built, though all of them might not end up in the core retail arm," said another source. Amazon has already hired Madhu M, a senior executive at Landmark (retail chain) to head its India operations. He is based out of Chennai where Amazon's Kindle development team is also based Amazon is also establishing a warehouse in Mumbai, as per standard requirement for e-commerce space going by what Amazon has been doing globally, and has bought 80,000 sqft land at SP Infocity, promoted by Shapoorji Pallonji & Co Ltd, in Perungudi in Chennai. The company already has a development centre in Chennai. Nokia India and Indiatimes Shopping have launched Nokias online store, NokiaShop, to deliver mobile devices directly from manufacturer to the users in this January. The online shopping portal will offer Nokia devices and accessories. Commenting on the association, Viral Oza, Director, Marketing, Nokia India, said: At Nokia, we have always invested in setting up a formidable retail network. Through our association with Indiatimes Shopping, we are confident that we will be able to offer a superior online shopping experience to our consumers by giving them an opportunity to buy their mobile device directly from Nokia. Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet said that the partnership is a step further to bring more offline brands to the online space. The brand strength of Indiatimes Shopping, its resources, knowledge, and credibility in the ecommerce space will provide Nokia the right platform to connect with its users. Talking about the partnership, Gautam Sinha, Director Technology and e-commerce head, Times Internet, said: We are pleased to partner with a top brand like Nokia and help them reach their online customers. Our aim is to capture the online mobile handset market in the next few months. Significant investments have been made in warehousing and last mile delivery to ensure a world class shopping experience for our customers. A recent report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) reveals that Indias e-commerce market is growing at an average rate of 70 percent annually and has grown over 500 percent in the past three years alone. Given the potential of e-commerce industry, Indiatimes and Nokia are confident of high growth in the mobile phone category within the next two quarters. Nokia devices connect more than 1.3 billion people every day. Times Internet Limited (TIL) is the Internet and mobile venture of the media house Times Group. Indiatimes.com is TILs flagship brand and receives more than 1 billion page views per month. In the mobile space, Indiatimes is accessed by over 50 million consumers across all telecom operators in India.

3. COST EFFECTIVE
Besides offering significant benefits to consumers in terms of accessibility and product & price comparisons, online retailing has commercial advantages as well. It allows much larger inventory breadth, offers cost savings through a lack of physical infrastructure and overheads, and potentially offers a global consumer base to almost any size of business. The biggest advantage of online sales is its cost effectiveness. The online version is not only available at zero

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real estate cost but also zero inventory cost. Gera further says, "It gives measurable options for marketing available on digital medium. Further, the retailer can reach a large targeted audience in lieu of targeting audiences through traditional media, which may not always be significant."

4. CONSTRAINTS
The retailers have recognized the potential hazard of not having Internet presence or even worse having presence, which is not user friendly. The challenge for the retailer today is to be shoulder-to-shoulder with the changing habits and preferences of the consumer. Another significant issue is that in online retailing the delivery person is the only possible human contact that the consumer comes across. So for retailers the delivery persons job is not just to deliver the product, but also to provide final touches to the consumers brand experience. Practically the delivery person is more of an extension of the retailer. Hence for the Internet retailer, their investment in logistics and final delivery is equivalent to the investment in outlets and its sales staff. The myth about online retailing is that such retailing is always cheap. Missed deliveries and repeat deliveries bleed the retailer dry and cannibalize the already low margins of this business. Online retail in India is on fire. Just switch on the television in the evenings and you will see signs of this trenda wave of advertisements during prime time slots from companies like Snapdeal and Flipcart blanketing the airwaves. Thats because these e-tailing sites have been pumped with cash for expansion and there is now a frantic race afoot to try and scale up as quickly as possible. What makes these ads easily familiar is residual memory of a similar kind of spending-spree that took place so long ago by companies who now occupy real estate in the great internet graveyard. In the US companies like pets.com and etoys.com were harbingers of the next great revolution in e-commerce, their valuations reaching astronomical heights only to quietly collapse and expire in a few years. Could the same thing happen here ? It is still early days for e-tailing in India, but Flipcart, Indias closest version of Amazon is currently valued at a staggering $1 billion(Rs5300 crore). Snapdeal.com, a company less than two years old that resembles US based Groupon raised $40 million at a valuation of $100 million (Rs 530crore) in July, over and above the $12 million that company raised in January. Other players who have bagged similarly lucrative deals include fashion and lifestyle players Fashion and You(raised $40 million in November at valuations of $200million) and sports gear website Myntra(raised $40 million at similar valuations). These are simply the most visible players, with an avalanche of others already bagging lucrative deals or waiting in the wings to do so. According to an Avendus report released in November, in the first 10 months of 2011, investments totaling $829 million were made in the sector. The total number of deals doubled from 33 in 2010 to 66 in 2011. Yet, many investors, especially those with a visceral memory of the 2000 internet bubble say that it is easy to find gaping holes in the fairytale. Mahesh Murthy, cofounder of Seedfund, a venture capital firm, is a leading

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skeptic of the boom based on issues of accountancy, and a thorough mismatch between toplines, sales margins and valuations. How can a company with toplines of Rs50 crores raise money at a valuation of $1 billion? The valuations have a ratio of 1: 100 vis a vis sales to valuations. The company is yet to break even. According to Flipkart founder and CEO Sachin Bansal, Flipkart is shipping 30,000 orders daily. Its revenues have gone up from Rs 50 crores in 2010-11 to Rs 500 crores this year and expected to reach $ much sooner than 2015. Prashanth Prakash, partner, Accel India Venture Fund, which has injected $20 million into companies over the past few years says in the next 3 to 4 years, the early stage focused private equity(PE) player will invest $140 million of which 40 percent is estimated to be in internet based companies. Sanjiv Bhikchandani, who launched Indias leading internet job portal Naukari around a decade ago, adds that there is one big difference between today and ten years ago. This time there are 100 million internet users as opposed to the 4 million internet users that India had in 1999-2000. If the companies are able to scale well, and execute keeping in mind a road to profitability we should see some winners this time around.

5. FUTURE IN INDIA
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has pegged the e-commerce market in India at Rs 9,210 crore. The market is estimated to grow 30 per cent year-on-year. E-retailing comes under e-commerce. E-tailing helps retailers build loyal customers and is aimed at selling in areas where they dont have a physical presence. Sankarson Banerjee, CEO of Future Bazaar (the Future groups e-tailing venture), says the foray has worked well for the group. In FY09, Future Bazaar sold Rs 122 crore worth of goods, 1.5 per cent of total sales of the Future group. By 2011, we is 2-3 per cent. Worldwide, it contributes 7-10 per cent of sales. We expect more in coming years. he said . Electronic goods and apparel are the most bought products online. Banerjee agrees, Besides international audience, we get orders from J&K, Andaman & Nicobar, etc. Ambareesh Murty, country manager, eBay India, concurs, Online marketplaces help create trade between metros and Tier II & III cities by bridging the demand and supply gap. Over a third of all products bought by eBayers in hilly areas (North East, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh) are tech gadgets (mobile phones, digital cameras and USB drives). While women from the metros are buying a lot of sarees, the sellers are spread across various cities and towns of India, including manufacturing hubs and handicraft hubs like Devanagere (Karnataka), Chittaurgarh (Rajasthan), Lucknow and Kunnamkulam (Kerala). Moreover, e-tailing helps retailers save on the real estate cost. Also, an e-tailer does not have to carry huge inventories and can cut supply chain costs. But Banerjee disagrees, It has other cost factors like delivery, technology, etc. Its not cheaper. This year, there will be more such ventures. Arvind Retail, which sells a small part of its apparels through thirdparty e-commerce websites, is understood to be planning a foray into e-tailing. TV18, which already owns a 24hour home shopping TV channel and a price checking site, called compareindia.com, is also learnt to plannig an e-tailing foray.

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But replicating the success such ventures have had in the developed world is a far-away dream considering the broadband bottleneck. Anand Ramanathan, manager, Business Performance Services, KPMG, says, Its a good complimentary service but I dont see it making big contribution to sales in the near future. On if e-tailing is aimed at getting customers where reatilers dont have a physical presence, Ramanathan said, Not really, the retailer has to have physical presence for delivery. Consider the Fabmall (a part of Trinetra Super Retail Limited) story. Fabmall also opened brick-and-mortar stores. Two years back, it was acquired by the Aditya Birla Group. These new ventures will be pitted directly against established players like eBay, Indiatimes, Rediff and Sify. Murty says it will only help the established players. We welcome the entry of reputed brands that consumers trust. The launch of IRCTC (Indian Railways e-commerce arm) to power sale of railway tickets has encouraged a whole new demographic to shop online. We see new e-commerce entrants helping increase the size of the market by encouraging new non-shoppers to turn online shoppers, said Murty. Incidentally, e-tailing is not limited to retailers. FMCG major Amway also launched its own e-tailing portal in 2008. For the direct-selling company, the online medium is aimed at expanding the companys existing distribution network across 500,000 Amway Business Owners and also to tap the vast semi-urban customers base with direct access to Amways product range. But capitalizing on Indias growth online will not be easy. Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal (who are not related), the founders of FlipKart, have had to do things that their American or European counterparts would never have. They have set up delivery operations in 13 big Indian cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi because Indian shippers do not have the delivery and package-tracking abilities that FedEx and U.P.S. provide for its American customers. They plan to expand FlipKarts delivery network to 25 cities within a year. Sachin Bansal, the companys chief executive, said that by having its own staff, FlipKart avoids paying courier services commissions of more than 2 percent to accept cash on delivery, which make up about 60 percent of its orders. It can also track packages more accurately. And because labor costs are relatively low in India, its delivery cost is a modest $1 a package. More than 90 percent of retail transactions in India are in cash, Mr. Bansal said. People like my dad and my uncle, they are much more comfortable with cash. If we have to increase our customer base, we have to accept cash. FlipKart is not alone in tweaking its model to suit Indian conditions. Myntra, an online retailer of clothes, has a delivery staff in Bangalore and plans to hire couriers in other cities. SnapDeal offers customers the option of making partial payments online and paying the balance to merchants whose products and services it sells, said Kunal Bahl, a co-founder of the service. Consumers and suppliers laud FlipKarts service and execution. But they expect the company to soon face greater competition, especially if Amazon starts an Indian operation. Today they are the best, said Ananth Padmanabhan, vice president for sales at Penguin India. But, he asked, if Amazon comes here next month, and they might, what will FlipKart do?

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The Bansals say they are prepared for competition from Amazon. Sachin Bansal, who worked with Binny Bansal as a software developer at Amazon before starting FlipKart, brushed aside a suggestion that the firm would make for an easy acquisition by Amazon. We are very keen on going our own way, he said. The opportunity is so large that we would want to grow it to a much bigger level before we think of anything. Pearl Uppal, CEO of fashionandyou.com, talks to DNA about the sudden boom in online retailing : The boom in the online retail sector has become a growing trend with an evolving market for it. As the tendency of customers to buy online products is increasing in India, more e-commerce websites are cropping up with specific products and target audiences. Internet penetration in the urban and metro markets has opened a new window of opportunity for the customers to compare products online and buy them at the click of a mouse. With the growth of disposable income, mindsets are changing. E-commerce websites not only offer branded products but also sell them at reasonable rates, which are far below the market prices. E-commerce is growing by 30% to 40% each year. With growth of disposable income of households, people have a lot more money to spend. When it comes to shopping, people are finally opening up to shopping online and are willing to take a chance. Also, e-commerce companies are going out of their way to give the consumer not just a product but an experience altogether. Credibility too does not seem to be an issue, with more and more branded players stepping into the e-commerce scene. With the wide spread of the internet, everyone is dipping their hands into the e-revolution. Online retail business is another format which has high potential for growth in the near future. The online retail segment in India is growing at an annual rate of 35 per cent, which would take its value from Rs 2,000 crore (US$ 429.5 million) in 2011 to Rs 7,000 crore (US$ 1.5 billion) by 2015. For instance the Tata Group firm Infiniti Retail, that operates its consumer durables and electronics chain of stores under the 'Croma' brand, is in the process of tapping net savvy consumers. Similarly, the Future Group, that operates a dedicated portal Futurebazaar.com for online sales, has revealed that it is targeting at least 10 per cent of the company's total retail sales through the digital medium. REI Agro, which operates grocery retail chain 6Ten, plans to launch My Grahak, an online platform. Future Group has started selling personal care products through its online channel Futurebazaar.com. With the passage of time came an era of less popular tele-shopping which dealt in limited range of products such as Astrology and spirituality products (such as Rudraksha Mala, Hanuman Kavach, Bal Raksha, etc), Health and fitness equipments (such as Tread Mill, Leg Massager, Height Increaser, Sauna Belt, etc) and even some of the Cooking ranges (including Juicers and Mixers, Vegetable Choppers, etc). But, most of these products could be termed as low-intensity and niche products which could interest only a limited target of people. Most of us are also a witness to the recent mall culture where all the products are available under a single roof and at competitive price points. Little needs to be analyzed about it over here as most of people might have visited a mall at least for once as a past time on a weekend, if not for shopping precisely. Next in line is the concept of virtual mall or online shopping which is already existent at its preliminary stage in India and is gradually growing exponentially. The market opened up with innovative online shopping initiatives

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from eBay, Rediff shopping and futurebazaar.com just to name a few. Thus, with modernization and fast paced life, came the constraints of time and eventually increasing dependence on online shopping. This has led to online shopping coming off age in India. People have commenced shopping through the convenience of online portals from the comforts of their drawing rooms. It is needless to say that shopping has been revolutionized by its wide spread presence across the various mediums such as TV, online portals and even cell phones now that even internet can be accessible through affordable category smart phones. Given above all the facts, Indian marketers are also increasingly becoming conscious about the viability of returned goods, if customer is not satisfied with the product. This may not sound true over here, but it is a partand-parcel of the game involved in online shopping. It is estimated that about a fifth of the buy orders get returned for the goods bought online. As such, most of the online sales are carried out on the condition of If not satisfied with the product, full money to be returned. Another factor is that most buyers pay on delivery which also keeps their options to return good open, if they do not like a particular product. The consumer market has seen a healthy growth propelled by a compounded annual growth rate of 14% in private consumption over the past many years. There has been a significant shift in consumer spending towards discretionary products, with durables being the one of the fastest growing categories. The Indian consumer base is supported by a vast rural market that accounts for 70% of the countrys population, a rise in rural income and the changing consumption basket. As consumer product companies compete among themselves to get a larger share of the consumer pie, technology and innovation will play a key role in their future growth. Conventional strategies of physical distribution and communication though will no longer guarantee the pace of growth or success seen in the past. Companies will try to find easier and cost-effective ways to reach out to a larger base of consumers. In future, consumer products players are also likely to invest in technologies that bolster their business processes. Technology has already played a pivotal role in the marketplace over the years, changing the face of other Indian industries such as banking. Leading players such as SBI and ICICI Bank have collaborated with telecom players to offer remote banking services. This has led to a phenomenal rise in the number of mobile payment users, from 400 in August 2010 to 11 million in May 2011. In the coming years, technology is expected to play a pivotal role across four strategic dimensions of consumer products business: Online retail in India is expected to penetrate categories beyond apparel and electronics, as companies attempt to sell essentials such as grocery and personal-care products online. The online retail market has significant potential and is estimated to reach Rs7,000 crore by 2015. Further, Indias 80 million internet user base is expected to reach 240 million by 2015, while the mobile subscriber base of 800 million is expected to touch 1.2 billion by 2014. As information and online payment becomes more prevalent, companies will be able to reach out to more and more consumers directly saving time and cost.

6. DIGITAL MARKETING
Leading companies will invest more in this technology in future to interact directly with tech-savvy consumers.

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With the strong potential of smart phones and 3G-enabled rich content transmission, mobile commerce is poised for increased growth. Companies are expected to increasingly explore the power of social networking as consumers increasingly use peer recommendation to select a brand. FMCG majors such as Hindustan Unilever are banking on social networking sites such as Facebook for its Axe brand in a bid to connect with their target audience directly. HULs Axe fan page had 1.6 million members within a year of being launched. The increasing reach of internet in India will allow innovative companies to talk to a wide set of consumers in a manner not imagined by others before. Ask Dr Bob Wagstaff, the 75-year-old inventor of the Orabrush. After being rejected by the top oral care companies and retailers, he set about starting an ad campaign on YouTube with a handful of students and a non-existent budget. With more than 38 million views of its YouTube channel, the ad spots of Orabrush have reached the No. 2 ranking for the number of subscribers of a sponsored YouTube channel. From sales of about 100 units with the first advertisement, the company has now sold more than 1 million units across more than 100 countries in the last year.

7. PRODUCT INNOVATION
Leading players will focus on acquiring technological know-how to cater to the growing demand for premium products in India. Emami acquired the exclusive rights of Multi Plant Stem Cell technology to manufacture and sell products under the Pure Skin brand in India, targeting revenues of `40-50 crore in the first year itself. More and more food companies are working on new products on a platform of health to gain consumes. The companies that will win will be the ones with better technology to move these products from the lab to the table.

8. FUTURE SCOPE
The online shopping network has established its footprints in India and is spreading all over the country at a very fast pace. India is a country where products get duplicated very easily like one can get a pair of sunglasses of a big brand name at throw away price in low end market places .Although the look of the sunglasses may be same a that of the original but there sure is a change of quality which a common man may not be able to make out. In this way many people get tricked very easily. There are plenty of other items that can be easily duplicated in India. Another problem faced by the consumers in India is the variation in the prices of the products that is observed quiet often. A product may cost at a high cost at high end markets, whereas the same product may be available at a cheaper price in the low end markets. There are online shopping web portals that provide products at discounted prices and the prices are fixed so that there is less possibility of the same product at high prices in the market. The products offered are of good quality and there are less chances of duplication. Apart from branded imported products there are domestic products that are offered through online shopping that are quite reliable. There is a good scope of online shopping in India as people are more concerned about the products that they buy and they can easily find products while sitting at home through logging onto their systems. In this way they can save money and unnecessary expenses while shopping . There are less chances of duplicate products as the websites only promote products that are genuine and well established. Few websites promote social shopping that enables users to make friends with other users and solve their queries related to any of the products .Social shopping has worked well in making online shopping most popular network in India as one can buy a product

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freely if he knows well about the products from hand on experienced people. Online shopping in India is becoming known day by day and the reaction of the customers have been supportive .Their tremendous support has led online marketing famous in major parts of India. Shopping through the online shopping portals is quiet convenient in the modern Indian society where time and money is equally precious. Through social shopping people can get opinion from experts and can make friends online whose wise suggestions prove worth in most of the cases. Online shopping in India has created a new scope for retailers as they can come forward and advertise their products easily and the amount paid is much less than they pay while advertising over television or by other means. The most wonderful of all is that through online shopping portals one can buy products at discounted rate and the rates get discounted further if the person remains loyal to the website .It means one can save more while shopping.

9. CONCLUSION
Technologies that aid in managing inventory, capturing sales data, forecasting demand and generating automatic replenishment to reduce time-to-market are likely to gain prominence. Inventory tracking technology such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), which achieved success in developed countries, is expected to see adoption in India. Metro Cash & Carry already has plans to expand its Tag It Easy! RFID program in India. Meanwhile, Quick Response codes are expected to achieve widespread use in the country with the growing adoption of smartphones. With sustainability becoming integral to corporate strategies, the adoption of costeffective green technologies that reduce energy consumption, emission levels, and wastage is also expected to increase. The next wave of battle for the consumer market will be fought on technology rather than anything else.

10. REFERENCES
[1] Bajaj, K.K., Country Report on E-Commerce (India, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Department of Information Technology, Office of the Controller of Certifying Authorities [2] Virpi Kristiina Tuunainen & Matti Rossi E-Business In Apparel Retailing Industry Critical Issues by,Helsinki School of Economics [3] Steve Burt, Leigh Sparks E-commerce and the retail process: a review by, Institute for Retail Studies, [4] Herb Sorrensen E-Book- Inside the Mind of the Shopper, from the Garrick Lee [5] Virtual Assistant - in E-Retailing (http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Can-a-Virtual- Assistant-Help-Your-ERetail-Business? & id=4818077) [6] Noam Tractinsky, Ben-Gurion A Study on Web-Store Aesthetics in E- Retailing: A Conceptual Framework and Some Theoretical Implications, by University of the Negev, Israel & Oded Lowengart,Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel [7] http://business.blogtells.com/category/legal/ [8] http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-disadvantages-internet.html . [9] www.wbcsoftwarelab.com SEO services related information. [10] www.business standard.com [11] www.google.com [12] IBM Retail Bulletin India-2011

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[13] www.scribd.com [14] www.business.outlookindia.com

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